Free Trial by Fire by BA Tortuga

to do this job. “I need to phone Mum, then. If I have updated information I’ll pass it on.”
    “Don’t bother.”
    “What?”
    “They left my service a message not an hour ago. They’re on a private jet to Sydney, then they’ll be to LA, then to you.”
    “Fuck a doodle doo.” That was going to be a giant clusterfuck. The more Aussies who showed up, the more likely Holden’s people were to start accusing them of doing it all. “I’ll get them a room.”
    “Good deal. See you in a couple.”
    And that was that. Dez wasn’t the king of lingering good-byes.
    No sense calling his oldies, then. Lachlan half wished he could whistle up a horse himself and do something useful. He’d just wait for the damned ransom call. That was when he could do the most good.
    He headed into the kitchen, where there had to be at least a dozen women toodling around. Ryan was standing there, eyes wide, lips pursed.
    “What’s all this, then?” Lachlan asked, chasing off the urge to laugh his ass off. That was just stress.
    “Well, some of them are neighbors. Some of them are friends. Some of them are wives. Some of them are the care committee from First Baptist. They’re taking turns with Calgary AME Zion.”
    “Church ladies? God help me, can any of them make a ruddy cup of tea!”
    “Can y’all ladies make Mr. McCoughey here a glass of tea, please?”
    “Sweet or unsweet, honey?”
    Lachlan blinked. “I just like lemon, no milk or sugar.”
    “Unsweet it is.” A tiny little sheila with a belly the size of the full moon handed him a glass of watered-down iced tea, which was a crime against nature.
    Lachlan smiled, hoping it didn’t look like he was baring his teeth. “I’m about to add to your stress,” he told Ryan. “My mum and dad are on a plane to LAX.”
    “Of course they are. It’s their grandbaby, why wouldn’t they be?”
    “Because I was trying not to let them come until we found her.” Lachlan sighed. “My head of security is in Dallas now and on his way. He’s an expert in corporate terrorism and negotiation.”
    “Who is it?”
    “Desmond Holmes.” He waited to see if the grr was one-sided.
    “Thank God for small favors. He’s a giant dick, but at least he isn’t a worthless piece of crap. Excuse my language, ladies.”
    The women all tittered.
    “I’m serious. Every broke-dick cowboy on earth has trooped through here and mucked up anything we might have been able to use for evidentiary purposes.”
    “Like Holden’s not going to find him and kill him.” That was from the tiniest wizened old lady in history.
    “Yes, Miz Sue, I know.”
    “They think I’m joking, but I’ll give him my gun to do it.”
    “Yes, Miz….” Ryan’s head whipped around as the door opened, three huge men appearing at the kitchen door with eight gigantic fecking bloodhounds. “Oh no. No. Berger, Junior, Trace, y’all. No.”
    “We was in Louisiana. We came fast as we could.”
    “Y’all can’t bring those dogs in here,” one of the ladies snapped. “Ryan, you get them something of Chloe’s.”
    Lachlan leaned against the counter, fairly sure that at some point, he would figure out what the living fuck was going on in the world. Possibly he’d wake up back at home.
    Instead, someone pushed him a plate with something covered in cheese on it. He stared down at it, noting how… yellow the cheese was. If it was actually cheese and not that plastic velveteen crap.
    “What is this?” he asked Ryan. “I thought it was breakfast time.”
    “Hashbrown casserole. Eat it. It’s good.”
    “Huh. Better than the tea, I hope.”
    “Oh for everloving fuck.” Ryan caught one of the ladies’ attention. “Brenda, hot water in a mug and one of Addie’s tea bags. Barger, I swear to God and all the apostles, if you bring one dog inside with you, I will shoot you. Lucy, go get something of Chloe’s out of her dirty clothes hamper.”
    Look at Ryan barking orders. That was more than a bit sexy.
    No wonder